Sources Sought Ensemble 29 Sep 2026 UPDATE.pdf

AFICC

772d ENTERPRISE SOURCING SQUADRON

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Ensemble

29 Sep 2026

1. THIS NOTICE IS ISSUED AS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR

INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. This notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for

Proposal or complete package outlining the technical competencies/qualifications of the prospective contractor, nor does it represent any commitment by the Government. Since this is a

Sources Sought announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. A solicitation does not presently exist.

2. The United States Air Force (USAF) has a requirement in support of Headquarters Air Force

Civil Engineer Center (HQ AFCEC), Fire and Emergency Services Division for the purchase of

Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Ensemble (complete set of protective gear, consisting of one coat and one pair of pants, and (1) particulate blocking hood. This requirement also has the potential to extend to other agencies within the Department of Defense. The intent of this notice is to eventually award a De-centralized Indefinite Delivery

Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contract. Delivery Orders, or Government Purchase Card (GPC) orders will fluctuate dependent on the USAF’s needs. It is anticipated that the first order will not be made until approximately fall of 2027.

The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 339113 –

Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing. The small business size standard for this

NAICS is 800 employees. The Product Service Code (PSC) is 4240 – Safety and Rescue

Equipment. Additionally, NAICS code 314999 – All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills is being considered. The small business size standard for this NAICS is 550 employees. The

Product Service Code (PSC) is 8415 – Clothing, Special Purpose

Orders will fluctuate dependent on the USAF’s needs, but the current estimate is based on a quantity of 11,000 Ensemble sets over the anticipated 5-year ordering period.

The Government is performing market research primarily to assess the number of firms with the capability to execute the requirements in the attached DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW). All business concerns are invited to provide a capability statement in response to this notice. It is required for all contractors to be registered to do business with the Government in SAM before any award is made. Contractors are encouraged to obtain further information on SAM registration at the following website: https://www.sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/index.jsf.

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/index.jsf

Contractors must have current NIST/CMMC assessments available for government viewing.

3. For the USAF to better understand the capabilities of the industry, please address the following questions:

a. Can the interested party ensure all products and components used in the construction of the structural firefighting ensemble have been tested, certified, and listed for compliance with NFPA

1970 by an accredited third-party certification organization (such as UL, SEI, or ITS/ETL)?

b. Can the contractor ensure the composite (Outer Shell, Moisture Barrier and Thermal Liner) of both coat and pants has a minimum Thermal Protective Performance (TPP) rating of 35 and a

Thermal Heat Loss (THL) of 253 W/m2 or greater throughout the garment?

c. Can the contractor provide a certified non-fluorinated / PFAS-free moisture barrier (e.g., GORE-

TEX CROSSTECH® Innovate or equivalent) that is 100% Berry Amendment compliant and meets or exceeds all physical, mechanical, and fluid-penetration resistance thresholds established in the

SOW?

d. Can the contractor provide an Outer Shell material composed of an advanced PBI and

Kevlar®/para-aramid blend with a nominal weight of approximately 7.0 oz/yd² (e.g., PBI

MAX®, PBI Flex7® with ENFORCE™ Technology, or equivalent certified fabric)? The outer shell construction may utilize either a reinforced ripstop grid or an engineered flex twill weave, provided it meets or exceeds all SOW mechanical tensile, trapezoidal tear strength (ASTM

D5587), and thermal performance thresholds.

e. Can the interested party certify that all textiles, fibers, yarns, and fabrics, as well as the final garment assembly, are 100% compliant with the Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. 4862) and its implementing regulation, DFARS 252.225-7012?"? Are products being offered

BUYAMERICAN ACT (BAA) compliant? If so, please explain in detail how the interested party ensures compliance is maintained.

f. Is the contractor and/or garment manufacturer certified and registered to ISO Standard 9001 to assure a satisfactory level of quality?

g. Can the contractor provide a structural coat liner that the shoulder and upper back thermal enhancement barrier provide greater conductive and compressive heat resistance protection IAW

NFPA 1970?

h. Can contractor ensure structural coat material extends over the top of each shoulder side-to-side from the collar to the sleeve seems. Additionally, the material shall extend over the front approximately 5-inches and the back approximately 7½-inches and stitched to the thermal liner only?

i. Can the contractor deliver all purchases within 130 Calendar days for CONUS installations and

142 Calendar days OCONUS shipments?

j. Does the contractor have formal agreements with fabric manufacturers to ensure a regular supply of fabric for garment manufacturing?

k. Does the contractor have an automated or electronic platform for ordering?

l. Does the contractor have quality control procedures in place to minimize manufacturing defects?

m. Can the contractor certify that all garments and components comply with the Restricted

Substances List (RSL) and chemical testing requirements mandated in the NFPA 1970 standard

n. Can the contractor certify that all supplied structural firefighting protective hood interface components meet the mandatory design and performance requirements of NFPA 1970, including a certified Particulate Filtration Efficiency (PFE) of 90% or greater for each particle size from

0.1 μm to 1.0 μm throughout the hood composite materials and seams, while maintaining a Total

Heat Loss (THL) of not less than 325 W/m^2?

The Government strongly encourages any firms interested in such work to submit a capability statement that addresses, as a minimum, the questions presented within this announcement.

4. Interested parties who can provide a product that complies with the required specifications should submit in writing an affirmative response, which includes as a minimum the following information:

a. Name of your business and Cage Code/UEI number

b. Business address

c. Provide a point of contact to include telephone number and email address

d. Provide a Web Page URL

e. Is/are the product(s) a commercial item(s)?

f. Other recommendations for a NAICS

g. Specify your business type based upon NAICS 339113 and 314999. Specify all that apply

SBA certified Small Business

Small Disadvantaged Business

8(a) Certified Small Business

HUBZone Small Business

Woman-Owned Small Business

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

Veteran-Owned Small Business)

h. Would your firm propose on this project as a prime contractor, prime contractor with subcontractor(s), prime contractor with team member subcontractor(s), or a joint venture?

If you have proposed a joint venture, identify to the extent possible, your team members.

Identify the business size of your team members or joint venture firms.

If a teaming arrangement is planned, give details to the extent practicable on how the team likely will be composed.

See FAR subpart 9.6 for Government policy on teaming arrangements and 8(a) Program regulations described in 13 CFR 124.513

i. Are subcontracting opportunities available? If so, please provide details

j. Identify any contracts completed in the past five (5) years for the same or similar items to help determine your firm’s capability in meeting the requirement for the items listed. Include any government contracts (Federal, State, or local) that you have been awarded for this type of requirement. Also, include the contract number and a government point of contact. Please also provide subcontracting percentages and dollars for the projects identified.

k. Is this product available on a GSA Schedule?

If so, please provide the GSA Schedule number and special item number. If GSA is in the process of awarding a schedule for this service, please provide the GSA point of contact name and phone number.

l. Are you able to provide a cataloged price list of your products?

m. Are specific requirements within the SOW that would preclude your company from providing a product (or products) that would satisfy our requirement? If so, provide details.

n. What is the level or extent of coverage in your company’s standard commercial warranty for the F&ES PPE firefighter ensemble in the SOW? Provide specifics.

o. Does your firm have any other comments or suggestions related to this requirement?

5. All responsible sources are encouraged to submit a capability statement in response to this announcement. All such responses will be considered by the agency. Responses shall be submitted electronically to Randall Jones at randall.jones.16@us.af.mil.

6. All responses shall be received NLT 1300CDT, 14 Oct 2026. Responses shall be no more than 15 pages (single spaced, front and back, no smaller than font size 12, Times New Roman. If submissions exceed the page count noted, the Government will only review the first 15 pages and disregard the remainder of the submission. Extraneous materials (brochures, manuals, etc.)

will not be considered.

DRAFT Attachment 1: Statement of Work (SOW)

DRAFT Attachment 2: List of Bases

DRAFT Exhibit – CDRL A001

DRAFT Exhibit – CDRL A002

DRAFT Exhibit – CDRL A003

DRAFT Exhibit – CDRL A004 mailto:randall.jones.16@us.af.mil